Fees for planning applications: overview

Why does a fee have to be paid for planning services?

Planning-related fees were introduced so that users of the planning system, rather than taxpayers in general, meet the costs incurred by local planning authorities in deciding planning applications. The overall planning service is funded from local government grant and from council tax. The planning application service is also funded by fees for planning applications.

Which planning applications are not subject to planning fees?

A planning application fee does not have to be paid for the following types of application:

applications for consents (other than ‘reserved matter’ approvals) required by a condition imposed on an outline permission (but a fee is payable for a request for written confirmation of compliance with a planning condition)

How and when should fees be paid?

Fees should be paid to the local planning authority at the time of submitting the application. The local planning authority will provide advice on how the payment should be made.

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Will the local authority charge an additional fee for paying by credit card?

Local authorities can charge an additional fee for paying by credit card. These charges are set locally by the local authority but should not be more than the cost of handling the credit card payment. Local authorities should not charge a fee for payments made by debit card.

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What happens if the correct fee is not paid?

The correct fee must be paid when the application is submitted in order for:

i. the local planning authority to begin to process the application; and

ii. the application to be valid.

Until the local planning authority accepts the application as valid, it cannot be registered or decided.

What are the fees for full applications?

Where an applicant has applied for full planning permission the fee is calculated by applying the relevant fee category or categories to the proposals in the application. This can include for example looking at the number of dwelling houses to be created, the area of gross floor space to be created or the size of the site area.

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What is the fee for each reserved matters application?

A reserved matters application may cover one or any number of reserved matters. The fee is calculated with reference to the relevant fee category or categories for the type of development proposed. The fee for each reserved matter(s) application is calculated as if it were a full planning application. Where an application for approval of reserved matters relates to only one part or phase of the development covered by the outline permission, fees should be charged on the basis of the number of buildings or the floor space included in that part or phase. Subsequent applications – in respect of other parts or phases – will attract fees on the same basis.

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Is there a limit to the number of reserved matters that can be submitted in one application?

There is no limit to the number of individual reserved matters that can be submitted as part of the same application. In some cases an applicant may also need to make more than one attempt to have a particular reserved matter approved.

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Is there a limit on the fees to be paid for reserved matter(s) applications?

Under paragraph 4(2) of Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the 2012 Fees Regulations, a flat rate fee of £462 is payable for any reserved matter application where the total amount paid for previous reserved matter(s) application(s) alone, equals or exceeds the fee that would have been payable for full permission for the whole development. The flat rate fee can only be applied where the reserved matter(s) application(s) is by the same applicant in respect of the same outline permission.

How are site areas and floor spaces calculated?

For most planning applications the fees are calculated based on the site area or the floor space of the application.

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What should be defined as the site area?

Site area is defined as the area to which the application relates. This should be shown edged in red on plans accompanying an application, while other land in the same ownership but not being developed should be outlined in blue.

If a proposal is for carrying out alteration or works to the same type of existing structure in many locations across a wide area, the local planning authority may accept plans where the area is enclosed by a blue (or, if not owned by the applicant, other coloured) line, and each small works site within that line is ringed or marked out in red. The area for the application would be the total of all the pieces of land within red lines added together. This would be the case for applications for non-domestic scale solar or wind farms.

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How is floor space calculated?

Floor space is the gross amount (all storeys, including basements and garaging) to be created by the development shown in the application. This is an external measurement, including the thickness of any external and internal walls, as set out in paragraph 12(1) of Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the 2012 Fees Regulations. The local planning authority decides which spaces within a building count for fee assessment purposes.

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Does site area or floor space get rounded up?

Any fraction of the stipulated unit of site area or floor space included in the application should be corrected upward to the 0.1 of a hectare or square metre respectively. For example 2.36 hectares would be rounded to 2.4 hectares and 60.4 square metres would be rounded to 61 square metres.

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How do I calculate the fee for a solar or wind farm application?

The calculation for a solar panel or wind farm application is treated differently. The calculation is based on the site area of the equipment only and any associated development such as ancillary buildings or access. It does not include any land in between the equipment unless the applicant wishes to have the flexibility to move the equipment within the site as a whole. Where the applicant wishes to have more flexibility on siting equipment the fee would be based on the area of land for the whole of the site.

Where the application is for a wind-turbine, the site area is based on the area of land within the sweep of the blades where the turbine rotates 360 degrees. The area is calculated by calculating the area of a circle where the radius is the length of the blade of the wind turbine. The area of all the turbines is added together with any associated development. Please note that some elements of the application may fall under different categories of development and therefore the areas for each component would be calculated on the basis of mixed category development.

How are fees for full permission for mixed development calculated?

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Fees for specific application types

How are fees calculated for prior approval applications?

Where the principle of development has already been established by a permitted development right, as set out in in Schedule 2 to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015, it usually means that there is no requirement to submit a planning application. However, in certain circumstances, a developer has to submit a request to the local planning authority to determine whether its prior approval will be required for specific elements of the development.

A fee for a prior approval application is payable in relation to certain types of development authorised by the 2015 Order. The amounts are payable every time an application for prior approval is made.

What is the fee payable for a lawful development certificate?

A lawful development certificate confirms that the particular use, operation or activity named within the certificate is lawful, so far as planning law is concerned, on the dates specified. A fee must be paid to the local planning authority for a lawful development certificate which is calculated in the following way:

Can a concession apply to applications for lawful development certificates?

Where the fee for an application for a lawful development certificate is the same as the applicant would have paid if they had actually made a planning application for the same development applied for in the lawful development certificate, then the applicant can take advantage of any exemption or concession that may be applied.

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When does a fee for written confirmation of compliance need to be paid?

Applicants will need to pay a written confirmation of compliance fee where they request confirmation in writing of any planning consent, agreement or approval (commonly known as discharge of conditions) required by one or more conditions or limitations attached to a grant of planning permission.

The fee chargeable by the authority is £116 per request (or £34 where the related permission was for extending or altering a dwelling house or other development in the curtilage e.g. garden of a dwelling house) as set out in regulation 16 of the 2012 Fees Regulations). A request can cover one or more conditions or limitations.

The Standard Application Form (application for the approval of details reserved by a condition) must be used to set out the details which applicants would like the local planning authority to consider.

If the local planning authority considers that the condition has not yet been complied with, they will explain to the applicant what remains to be done and issue confirmation of compliance when satisfied, unless enforcement action or a retrospective planning application would be more appropriate.

Where the applicant makes more than one request for confirmation of compliance in order to amend or revise the details to comply with a condition, a fee has to be paid each time as if it were the first such request.

Can a local planning authority decline to accept an application to vary conditions?

A local planning authority may decline to accept an application under section 73 or 73A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 if the actual or potential impact of varying the relevant condition(s) would more properly be the subject of an entirely fresh application for full planning permission.

Advance signs

‘Advance signs’ are advertisements which give advance notice of premises situated in the locality of the proposed advertisement but which are not visible from the location of the advertisement. For example, when a hotel in a rural area wishes to obtain express consent for an advance sign beside a main road, and the hotel cannot be seen from the site where the advertisement is to be displayed, the fee will be £132; but when a hotel wants to put up an advertisement beside a main road, on a site from which the hotel itself can be seen, the fee goes up to £462.

How much is the fee for a deemed planning application?

When an appeal is made against an enforcement notice under section 174 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 under the ground in Section 174(2)(a) that planning permission ought to have been granted, the process for resolving the issue is through a ‘deemed application’. This is an application deemed to have been made for planning permission to carry out whatever activity or change of land-use had earlier been found unlawful by the local planning authority.

Applications made on sites that cross local planning authority boundaries

If an application site is on land that falls within the boundary of more than one local planning authority, then identical applications must be submitted to each local planning authority, identifying on the plans which part of the site is relevant to each. The planning fee is paid to the local planning authority whose area contains the largest part of the application site.

The fee, however, for this divided site would be either the sum of the fees payable for each part of the site calculated separately, or, if it comes to a smaller figure, 150% of the fee that would have been payable if there had been only one application to a single authority covering the entire site.

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Applications made on sites that cross local planning authority boundaries: County matter applications

The fee for a county matter application which relates to land which is situated in a single county for which there is no county planning authority will be the same as the fee which would have been payable if the application had fallen to be made to one authority in relation to the whole development (see paragraph 8(2) of Part 1 of Schedule 1 of 2012 Fees Regulations). In any other case, the fee for a county matter application which is on a site which crosses local planning authority boundaries will be 150% of the fee which would have been payable if the application had fallen to be made to a single authority or the sum of the fees payable for each part of the site calculated separately, whichever is the lesser.

The flat rate fee applies to applications to change the use of land for playing fields and other associated operations such as earthmoving, draining or levelling. The flat rate fee does not apply to planning applications to erect buildings.

The term “playing field” includes, but is not limited to, football, cricket, hockey or hurling pitches, but does not include enclosed courts for games such as tennis or squash, golf courses or golf driving ranges.

When are applications eligible for a “free go”

A planning application may benefit from a “free go” to submit a further application without paying a fee. This table
(PDF, 89KB, 3 pages)
sets out the type of application which can benefit from a “free go” and the conditions and requirements to be eligible.

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Refunds and adjustments

Can planning application fees be refunded once paid?

Once paid, most planning application fees cannot be refunded. There are a few exceptions to this, including:

When are planning application fees refunded under the Planning Guarantee?

Under the Planning Guarantee, the planning application fee must be refunded to applicants where no decision has been made within 26 weeks (unless a longer period has been agreed in writing between the applicant and the local planning authority) (see regulation 9A of the 2012 Fees Regulations). This only applies to applications submitted after 1 October 2013.

When will fees for deemed planning applications be refunded?

i. if the related enforcement notice is withdrawn by the local planning authority at any stage

ii. if the related appeal is withdrawn at least 21 days before the public inquiry, or the site inspection where the written representations procedure is used. (An appeal is regarded as ‘withdrawn’ on the date when the Secretary of State receives notice in writing of the withdrawal.)

iii. if an enforcement notice appeal is rejected as invalid, is null, or is formally dismissed for lack of facts in support of the grounds of appeal within a period prescribed by the Secretary of State

iv. if an enforcement notice is quashed, and the appeal is allowed by the Secretary of State because the local planning authority has failed to submit the prescribed information within a prescribed period

v. if an enforcement notice appeal is allowed because the enforcement notice is found to be invalid or to contain a defect which the Secretary of State cannot correct within the appeal process

How many site visits can a mineral planning authority charge for?

Under regulation 15 of the 2012 Fees Regulations, authorities can charge for a maximum of eight site visits within any 12 month period for an active mining or landfill site, and one visit for an inactive site. Additional site visits may be undertaken but they cannot be charged for.

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What is an active site in terms of mineral development?

An active site in terms of minerals development is:

one where development to which a mineral or landfill permission relates

where a condition attached to the mineral permission or landfill permission is in operation

a single site which is both a mining and landfill site where either or both are operational

“mothballed” sites which are subject to ongoing restoration or aftercare

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What is an inactive site in terms of minerals development?

Inactive sites in terms of minerals development are any other sites which are not active, dormant, mining or landfill sites, and “mothballed” mining or landfill sites where no mineral or landfill restoration and aftercare are being carried out to any substantial extent.

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What inspection fee is charged for a minerals and/or a landfill site which has more than one planning application and includes more than one location?

For fee purposes, a mining and/or landfill site is the area of land which is worked as a single site, regardless of how many planning permissions or what permitted development rights relate to it. For mining sites, this may also include satellite sites. The whole site will be the subject of the monitoring visit, for which a single charge can be made up to the maximum number of chargeable visits.

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What is the fee if a site is both a mining and a landfill site?

For fee purposes, sites worked as both mineral and landfill sites are regarded as single sites, and are subject to the maximum number of chargeable monitoring visits.

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How do monitoring fees apply to satellite sites?

Fees can apply to satellite sites. These sites may be part of the mining site and grouped with the main extraction site or primary processing facility and may be subject to a monitoring fee.

This will depend on factors such as:

their location

their distance from each other and from the main extraction site or primary processing facility

whether it is clear that the various sites form part of a coordinated mineral extraction and/or primary processing operation

whether it makes practical sense to monitor them all at the same time or separately

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When will fees cease to be charged?

Fees will cease to be charged for monitoring visits on the completion of the period of aftercare set out in the planning permission.

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What constitutes a site visit for which fees may be charged?

A fee may only be charged for a site visit when the planning officer(s) enter a mining or landfill site to monitor compliance with planning permissions and obligations. Fees are not charged for any assessment by an officer of conditions at a site without entering the site.

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What happens when a mining or landfill site straddles two or more mineral planning authority boundaries?

Where a mining or landfill site straddles two or more mineral planning authority boundaries, the mineral planning authorities should agree who is responsible for monitoring the site, and to which mineral planning authority the operator will pay the fee. The monitoring of the site should normally be undertaken by the authority which contains the largest proportion of the site.

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What issues should mineral planning authorities monitor under individual site visits?

Mineral planning authorities’ visits may monitor one or more aspects of operations or a few conditions only. However, over the course of each 12 month period all planning conditions and obligations, including section 106 agreements, and any permitted development rights should be monitored.

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Should monitoring cover issues which are the responsibility of the Environment Agency?

Mineral planning authorities should avoid monitoring activities which are the responsibility of the Environment Agency. Operators should not be billed twice for duplicated monitoring by the Environment Agency and the planning authority.

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How many chargeable site visits to active sites should be carried out?

The number of chargeable visits to active sites will depend on a number of factors, including:

i. the size and type of development

ii. the number and complexity of conditions

iii. the number of issues requiring monitoring

iv. the stage of development. More frequent visits to mining sites may be needed during initial site preparation e.g. construction of site access and wheel washing equipment, installation and commissioning of processing plant/offices

v. the progressive nature of working/restoration ie sand and gravel sites may require more frequent visits than hard rock

vi. breaches of planning control observed/consistency in compliance

vii. complaints received about the site that have proved to be justified

Whilst a maximum of eight site visits are chargeable, local planning authorities should not seek to carry out more than four visits in a 12 month period unless the site is at a particularly sensitive stage of development, or where the authority has concerns about compliance. Minor breaches of control at an otherwise consistently compliant site should not normally lead to more visits in the following year.

An active, “mothballed”, site that is subject to restoration works should receive fewer monitoring visits than other types of active sites.

Mineral planning authorities should agree with operators the number of site visits (announced and unannounced) to each site, and who will be invoiced for the monitoring fees, at the start of the charging year. Mineral planning authorities should clearly explain the performance assessment and other factors which have been taken into account in reaching the number of proposed site visits.

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Who should pay the monitoring fee?

The operator should pay the monitoring fee. “Operator” is defined in regulation 15(6) of the 2012 Fees Regulations. For sites in multiple operation, an operator in overall control of the site should pay for the monitoring. However, the operator may make arrangements to recoup part of the fees from subsidiary operators carrying out mineral development, but who are not in overall control of the site.

Where no operator has been identified, responsibility for paying the monitoring fee rests with the owner. The liable owner is the person who holds the head lease of the site. If there is no head lease, then the person who is the freehold owner of the site is liable. If there is more than one owner, then the fee will be split between them.

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When should site monitoring fees be paid?

A fee for a site visit is charged after the visit has occurred, and a written follow up site monitoring report has been sent to the operator. Local planning authorities should agree invoicing arrangements, including when visits should be paid for, with operators before the start of the charging year.

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Should the record of the site visit record any specific information about the site visit?

A record of the time spent on site should be produced by the mineral planning authority and completed for each site visit. The record of the site visit should also identify the time spent at site, the name and work address of the officer who carried out the inspection, whether or not the visit was announced or unannounced or was in response to a complaint, and a short description of which planning conditions were monitored.

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What should a site monitoring report contain?

A written site monitoring report should detail in full:

compliance with, and any breaches of, the planning conditions being monitored

the matters reviewed, the points arising, agreed improvements in working practices that have been identified, any breaches of conditions, and the action required by both the operator and the authority, including timescales

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